Good news, bad news for real news in the age of fake news

Fake news is not necessarily a new thing, but it certainly has been getting a lot of attention lately.

Obviously fake news is detrimental to readers — especially if the audience takes the bait and believes the story.

Fake news can also be detrimental to traditional news media.

While some publications, like The Onion, are known for satirical news, others are more deceptive.

For one, it draws away online audiences and puts digital impressions and advertising dollars in the hands of the fakers.

Further, fake news distracts from the real news. When we focus on fake news it can reduce the legitimacy and trustworthiness of all media.

And perhaps the most critical implication: it intensifies the race to the bottom. Click bait trumps substance and ultimately we are bombarded with “a deluge of crap” (Journalist Michael Wolff’s words, not mine).

It’s estimated that the propaganda type of fake news was viewed more than 200 million times by 15 million Americans during the election period.

Another round of really fake stories were coming out of Macedonia. These are designed to drive clicks and ad revenue. It is reported that four fake stories alone generated more than one-million shares.

Clearly this kind of fake news is popular.

This popularity is not good news for purveyors of real news.

Good news

If there is good news, it is that there remains strong demand for real news.